KREAS is a project of the Operational Programme Research, Development and Education (OP RDE), call: Excellent Research. The project has been awarded for the 2018-2022 period. The project holder is the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, defined by the call as a Research and Development Center. The project covers the main research areas of the Faculty and its chief research agenda is formed on the platform of three research centers (see hrc.ff.cuni.cz). The Principal Investigator of the project is the internationally acclaimed linguist Mirjam Fried.
Project Abstract:
The purpose of the KREAS project is problem-oriented research in the humanities, focused on the foundations and nature of European identity, including a comparative study of non-European civilizations, all in a broader cultural perspective. This perspective includes philosophical, religious, communication, linguistic, and historical contexts. The aim of our research is to explore the potential of European society to respond adequately to current risks, to adapt to new social challenges – such as the growing global interconnectedness of the world, migration of people and ideas, and new technologies – and to approach the solutions in a creative way. The methodological foundation of the project is the conviction that various crises emerging as part of encounters with foreign phenomena should not be understood as threats but, rather, as incentives to shape the future of Europe and its values.
Project Structure:
The project consists of three research programs (RP) that correspond to the general outline of the main discipline-clusters of the project:
- RP1 Creative Laboratory (Philosophy and Religion, Literature, Creative Industries, Digital Humanities)
- RP2 Socio-Cultural Adaptation (Linguistics, History, Social Sciences)
- RP3 Strategic Regions (Area Studies, Political Science)
According to the OP RDE, the disciplines are divided into major and minor ones as follows: philosophy and religion; literature; mass media; audiovisual media (RP1); linguistics; history (RP2); safety and health protection; mankind – machine; Political Science (RP3).
In this classification, KREAS represents a substantial part of the agenda covered by the research centers at the Faculty of Arts and at Charles University mentioned above, i.e. the Creative Laboratory, Centre for the Study of Human Society, and the Institute for the Study of Strategic Regions, Charles University (see hrc.ff.cuni.cz).